The new bus system will make it easier for residents to get to jobs, schools and cultural centers in downtown Austin.

The new MetroRapid bus service includes construction of 40 new bus stations and the purchase of 40 clean diesel buses that will operate along a 37.5-mile route on streets that run parallel to the region’s main highways, I-35 and Loop-1. The service will make it easier for riders to access downtown Austin’s central business district, the State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin, while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions. More than 20,000 daily riders are expected to use the service when it begins in 2014.

The agreement, which covers about 80% of the $47 million project, clears the way for Capital Metro to begin construction on the new BRT system. According to MetroRapid, the project is expected to create more than 100 construction-related jobs.

FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff also announced an additional $3 million grant from FTA’s State of Good Repair Program that Capital Metro will use toward the replacement of seven worn-out buses in its regular fleet.

Tier One modernizes 300 stops along two of GRTC’s busiest routes with each stop receiving upgrades that include new flags with clearly visible route and bus stop numbers as well as eye-level, easy-to-use printed schedule and map information.

The 8.3-mile route, with a proposed 27 stops, would replace the Capital Area Transportation Authority’s current Route 1 from downtown Lansing to the Meridian Mall. Results from the plan’s environmental assessment study are expected to be shared at a public hearing this fall.